DIY Icy Hot Pain Relieving Salve
My husband is a very active guy, both in sports and at the gym. While I am very happy that he cares about regular physical activity, I am sick and tired of listening to him groan in pain when he has sore muscles and joints from all of his adventures. Being the loving compassionate wife and nurse that I am, I decided to come up with an after-exercise rub, so he will stop his complaining! The Icy Hot you buy at the store is full of junk that we do not need to be applying to our skin. Want to know what’s in that chemical cream? Sure you do!
Whats in the store-bought Icy Hot (a bunch of junk made in a lab!)
Now, here is my DIY Icy Hot recipe that was created with nature-made ingredients…
Note: I used the cayenne for the pain relief and the PanAway for the cooling sensation.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup coconut oil — like this
- 2 tsp cayenne powder — where to find
- 1 Tbsp beeswax — where to find
- 20 drops PanAway essenntial oil
Directions:
- In a double boiler, combine the coconut oil and cayenne pepper
- Let the oil and pepper heat over a slow simmer for several hours to infuse the pepper into the oil
- You may need to add more water to the base of the double boiler as it will evaporate off with time
- Allow to cool (I like to let mine sit over night, and then reheat in the morning)
- Strain through a cheesecloth or paper towel lined mesh strainer
- Add the infused oil back into the double boiler and stir in beeswax
- Heat until melted, then add in the PanAway oil and stir to combine
- Pour into desired container (we use these)
- This recipe makes 1/2 cup of salve and lasts about 6 months
Uses:
- This is a topical salve, not intended to be used on open wounds, cuts or mucous membranes — it will burn!
- You can use it to ease the pain from: sore muscles, joint pains, painful bruises, and even some cases of nerve pain
- If using it for arthritic or chronic pain, it may take up to a week or two (with daily use) to see results
Why it works:
- Capsaicin (in the cayenne): When a capsaicin cream or ointment is used on the skin (topical use), capsaicin helps relieve pain. Capsaicin works by first stimulating and then decreasing the intensity of pain signals in the body. Although pain may at first increase, it usually decreases after the first use. Capsaicin stimulates the release of a compound believed to be involved in communicating pain between the nerves in the spinal cord and other parts of the body. (source)
- PanAway essential oil: Ingredients: Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), helichrysum (Helichrysum italicum), clove (Syzygium aromaticum) and peppermint (Mentha piperita). Containing wintergreen essential oil, which is often used for massage, PanAway is soothing to the skin while providing comforting warmth to muscles after exercise.
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None of these health benefits have been evaluated or approved by the FDA. They should not be used in place of personal judgment or medical treatment when needed, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. (Only your doctor can diagnose and treat disease.) Read my full disclaimer.
Hi, my name is Kate.
I love food. Real food. We eat all of the things that nursing school taught me were bad for you: butter, eggs, bacon, and raw milk.
I am a Nurse, a Mom, and a Real Food loving blogger. Just trying to save the world.